Badgers Lacrosse crush Mustangs at Homecoming

In a battle of two unbeaten teams the Brock Badgers won 14-6 against the Western Mustangs, avenging a Homecoming loss from two years ago. Mark Debrone led the way with three goals, making him the CUFLA goal leader of the 2014 season. Brock ran a 2-3-1 formation in the first half utilizing their speed on the outside allowing them to open up scoring opportunities for their attackers. Most notably, senior attack Kyle Davis used the open space to create scoring opportunities. At halftime the Badgers were up 5-3 with a shot advantage of 22-15. Knowing the Mustangs static offense, the Badgers went on the offensive in the second half scoring nine against a depleted Mustang defense. While the Badgers offense was electric, the Mustangs defense struggled. Western prides themselves on a ground and pound offense, suffocating the opposing team with ball possession, however the Mustangs have not played a team as skilled all around as the Badgers.

In the second half the Badgers moved to a 1-4 set running pick and rolls through the three lanes opening up the attackers for Brock. All Canadian Mark Debrone ran through the Mustangs Defense with ease. Debrone’s third goal was that of highlight reels, weaving through defenders then ripping it from 15 yards out scoring the 14th goal for the Badgers. The unexpecting Mustangs were left in the dust with this adjustment as the second half goals piled in.

A strong point in this game was goaltender Ryan Jones, who seemingly stopped everything towards the goal. Jones is trying to fill the shoes of an all Canadian Ian Duffy, who left the Badgers with an ever-shrinking hole to fill. Jones showed great poise in the Badgers’ win.

The atmosphere at the field was palpable. The support of Badgers all around was noticeable, and one could point out that the Mustangs missing their homecoming could have been a factor in this game. At one point of the game the crowd broke into a “let’s go Badgers” chant which definitely inspired the Brock players on the field.

While I may have predicted an 18-9 victory, I am much more confident in our Badgers after beating their toughest opponent of the year. But I’ll leave you with one question; Can they? Can they actually go …? Don’t say it, don’t jinx it.